Further complications loom for digital television conversion

For some residents of Humboldt County's more rural pockets, the transition from analog to digital television has the potential to eliminate all broadcast signals even with a converter box.

Residents of Orleans, for example, depend upon a battery-operated translator to receive local channels. The problem is that site and others like it do not have sufficient power to operate a digital translator and modulator necessary for converting the digital signal into analog and rebroadcasting it to local homes, according to Joseph Lowe, KIEM's chief engineer.

Lowe and Federal Communications Commission Senior Counsel Sherille Ismail were among several who addressed the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

Ismail said of the estimated 10,000 residents countywide who depend on antennas for their television reception, 8,400 have applied for the $40 government-issued coupons to purchase the converter boxes, but only 2,800 of those have been redeemed.

One of the problems that's emerged, Ismail said, is that many people have applied for and received the coupons, but did not realize they're only good for 90 days. Once expired, there's no going back for more. In those cases, Ismail said, the best thing to do is ask friends or family to apply for a coupon and pass it along.

North Coast viewers will get their first taste of the digital television offerings on Wednesday when KIEM, KAEF and KEET run a "soft test," Ismail said. The screen will go blank for a short spell during primetime, but there will be an audio message to remind viewers to sign up for the coupons.

As to viewers who depend on translators for access to local channels, the solution is to upgrade the translators to digital.

"We are pledged to continue to work with the board, the broadcast stations and tribes to do everything we can to make sure no one loses service," the FCC representative said.

Lowe said upgrading the Orleans translator site would be difficult if not impractical without first upgrading the power system -- which is an expensive undertaking.

"It's not a simple matter to upgrade those sites," he said.

The translator sites typically run on solar or other alternative energy which does not generate sufficient power to operate the needed digital translator, Lowe said.

In Hoopa, he said KIEM is in the process of applying for grants to purchase the needed digital receiver and modulator for the site. Essentially, the equipment will receive the digital signal, translate it to analog and rebroadcast it to local households.

Lowe said he expected to have the equipment in place prior to Feb. 17 when all analog signals are changed to digital.

Third District Supervisor John Woolley encouraged the FCC to come up with financing to help communities that are off the grid and dependent upon translator sites for local television broadcasts.

The supervisors agreed to inventory the more rural areas to determine how many translators would be affected, encourage the broadcast of local stations on satellite and address the translator situation.

Ismail said he's not convinced that converter boxes won't work in the Orleans area.

"We're still exploring that," he said. "I haven't closed out that option."